Labor and Greens desert regional students
28th October, 2010
The Greens today snubbed a priceless opportunity to support regional students’ access to the Independent Youth Allowance.The Greens and Labor both say they care about education and the plight of students, but they sat together in the House to oppose the Coalition’s motion to bring fairness back into the youth allowance system, the Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, said today.
The rest of the House belatedly recognised what The Nationals and Liberals have been saying for a very long time now about Labor and The Greens – these supposed parties of compassion and opportunity really don’t care at all.
The Coalition moved a motion to restore the youth allowance to students in “inner regional areas”, and for only the second time in recent history it was passed by the House after being moved from Opposition.
“This is great news and I certainly hope the Gillard Government pays heed to the voice of the Parliament,” Mr Truss said. “I am dumbfounded that the message has not sunk in already.
“We all know that regional students and their families have particular difficulty accessing tertiary education, and Ms Gillard’s changes forced through the House when she was Education Minister made life very hard for tens of thousands of students living outside the big cities.
“Ms Gillard limited the eligibility criteria so that these students had to work 30 hours a week over 18 months out of a two year period to qualify for the independent youth allowance.
“This criteria is often very difficult to meet for young people living in regional areas, and the Coalition was earlier this year able to prevent Labor from applying this dreadful policy to students living in ‘outer regional’ areas.
“We are now working to treat all regional students fairly, including those living in ‘inner regional’ areas.
“The ball is now in Labor’s court, and The Greens need to know that we will be telling students EVERYWHERE how they have deserted students who they claim to represent. We don’t need to tell regional people about Labor’s disdain for them – they already know,” Mr Truss said.
